Apparatus for the automatic discharge of firearms on attaining a predetermined elevation.



PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

1 A T. MANGIU. APPARATUS FOR THE AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE 0F FIREARMS ON ATTAINING A PREDETERMINED ELEVATION.

APPLICATION FILED .T' 11.4 190 6 s SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO. 877,850. PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908.

- T. MANGIU. APPARATUS FOR THE AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS ON ATTAINING A PRBDBTERMINED ELEVATION.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1906. 3 SHEE TS SHEET 2.

1 2;; l zj zg.

I K 211/114 I 1? u Z 2 a L. L ll 5.

PATENTED JAN. 28, 1908. Y T. MANOIU. APPARATUS FOR THE AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE 0F FIREARMS 0N ATTAINING A PREDETERMINED ELEVATION.

APPLICATION FILED .4 1906.

JAN 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNTTFQD FTATE PATENT @FFTCE.

THOMAS MANGIU, OF IGLAU, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

APPARATUS FOR Tm AUTOMATIC DISCHARGE QF FIREARMS ON ATTAINING A FREDETERMINED ELEVATION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented .J' an. .28, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that TnoMAs MANGIU, premier lieutenant in the l. R. Austro-llungarian army, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, stationed at Iglau, Moravia, Austria-Hungary, has invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for the Automatic Discharge of Firearmson Attaining a Predetermined Elevation, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device for hand fire arms which discharges the shot automatically at the moment at which the fire arm has reached the position corresponding to the elevation and aiming angle for the target. For this purpose a compressed spring actsupon the trigger and ignition mechanism, the release of which is efiected by means of a pendulum dipping into a liquid, or by means of a.

counterbalanced float which is arranged to be placed horizontally upon a liquid surface. The device can be easily attached to any weapon, and in the following constructional example is described as attached to the Austrian army rifle and as secured upon the handle alon side the ma azine with the prolonged box ody and ho ding screw.

in the accompanying drawing Figure 1 illustrates a longitudinal section Fig. 2 a

, transverse section and Fig. 3 a section on the line 11 of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views on the lines 44 and 55 of Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. Figs. 6 and 7 show respectively a longitudinal section and I a plan, and Fig. 8 a section on the line 2-2 of-Fig. 6 of a second constructional form of the pendulum. Figs. 9 to 24 illustrate the most im ortant arts of the device sepa-- rately. ig. 25 illustrates the mechanism attached to a gun.

Upon the cover A of the casing of the de vice there is provided a graduation a'obtained experimentally, by aid of which the lever c fixed upon an axle b can be adjusted corresponding to the angle of elevation increased by the angle of position and which can be held fast by means of a nut (1 (Figs. 3, l4 and'15). With the lever 0 there moves to the same angle a tube e to the under projection whereof the lever c is fastened between the casing wall B and the. rotecting wall C.

i of this bolt bears a head piece provided with a nose g (Fig. 19) while upon the lower end there is screwed a guiding piece h with which there is connected a Striker 7) projecting through aslot of the tube e. Around the bolt f is coiled a spiral spring 3', which supports itself on the one hand against the interior collar k fastened by means of screws in the tube 6, and on the other hand supports itself against the guide piece 72.. At the u per art of the tube e there are arranged two ugs F(Fig. 16) on each side of the slot, in which the pivot of a lever m is supported, which lever terminates in a hook it ig. 3).

The striking piece '1', of the guide bears a spring 0 which presses the ook n constantly against the slot of the tube 6. At the upper end of the tube e there is provided iece h a rib p in the bore of which the pivot of anangle lever (Figs. 3 and 24) is revolubly su ported. lhe turning of this angle lever is limited by a wedge iece, which holds the lever in its position. F11 the short arm of the angle lever there is rovided a set screw 1' by means of which the en th of the engagement between the hook it o .the lever m and the rejection g of the head piece can be reguated. l

After the position angle has been estimated or determined bymeans of a measuring device attached to the ap aratus, the pointer of the lever c is adjusts with regard to the elevation to the corresponding point of the graduation a, and with the raised or lowered mouthpiece'of the fire arm'and without applying this to the shoulder the settingpieces (Fig. 2) is pressed forwards. Thereby the setting-piece s is moved in the perforated and slotted striking piece t (Figs. 2 and 9). The striking piece is placed in a tubularshaped projection D of the casing and bears a quadrangular head which asses through the casing of the apparatus, ies in front of the trigger and releases this latter when the striking piece is pushed back. Upon the piece sis attached an elbow iece 1/. (Figs. 2 and 13) which during the" orward motion compresses thespring c which is attached on the casing of the apparatus to the wall E (Fig. -1).- The forward motion of the elbow piece 1/. follows until its head slides with its part W and on continued motion with the other part a over the hook of a one-armed lever y, which lever is constantly held in connection with the catches ofthe elbow piece V by means of a spring .2, and revents its slid ing back along a guide b0 t a The onearmed lever y bears sidewise a loop 1), (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which loop presses against the striking piece i. During the second half of the motion of the elbow piece over the part ac, the front surface of the piece it presses against the short arm of the angle lever 0,, (Fig. 1) whereby the curved arm of the angle lever raises the guide piece it until the hook of the lever m engages under the projection g of the head piece (Fig. 3) and the sprin 7' is compressed. The engagement ofthe Iever m under the projection g of the head piece follows on the passing over of the part at to a certain amount so that the then free art .9 slips back to this extent in the part as, t e angle lever 0 sinks again and a space between the guide piece h and the curved arm of the lever 0 occurs. The motion of the curved arm of the angle lever 0 takes place in a short lower slot of the casing e.

Within the casing F of the device there is fixed a vessel (1 filled with a liquid such as glycerin, which is closed by means of a ground In plate. In this vessel there is a pendulum fastened upon an axle e, by means of the screw g,, which pendulum is com osed of a this atter. The striker & now presses, in conpendu um and holds it 'ast.

shield f and a rectangular head 1 through which the axle e passes. The axle projects at one end through the side wall of the vessel (1, and is rovided outside with a crank picee i, (Fi Upon a second shaft j, supported in t e walls of the vessel (1, is fixed a spring k, (F i 4), which spring resses against the The shaft 7', projects likewise through one side wall of the vessel (1, and bears outside the arm 1,. On the commencement of the motion of the elbow iece u from the point w to the point an a pro ection m (Fig. 12) of the elbow piece it presses against the arm 1, and presses the spring 7c, against the lower casing wall, whereby the pendulum is released.

The pendulum is so constructed that it possesses on the one hand a short period of oscillation, and on the other hand the moving power thereof is a proximately e ual to the resistance of the uid mass, in t e present case to the resistance of glycerin so that after oscillation it rapidly regains its osition of rest. If the setting piece 8 be le t free and the fire arm aimed at the target, then the crank piece 71, strikes against the long arm of the angle lever (1 (Fig. 3). This latter presses with its short arm against the long arm of the lever m whereupon the hook at retreats from the rojection g of the head piece and releases.

sequence of the action of the spiral spring,

. against the loop 5, of the one-armed lever 'y and disengages its hook from the part a: of the elbow piece u. The piece a is thrust back together with the setting piece 8 by the .ac tion of the spring 12, and carries the striker t with it, which striker hits against the trig er of the weapon by means of its quadrangu ar head and thus discharges the shot.

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 a second constructional form of the pendulum is illustrated. This consists of a rod '11., fixed upon the shaft 0., in the middle, which shaft bears at both ends two counter-balanced light hollow bodies-0,. The casing d, is only partly filled with a specifically heavy liquid, such, for instance, as glycerin, in which the hollow bodies 0 float. The liquid surface which constantly adjusts itself horizontally, holds the hollow bodies, and consequently also the rod to, fixed on the axle e in the horizontal position; consequently the crank piece 4., correspondingly secured to the end of the axle will be always in the perpendicular osition.

Having now particularly descri ed and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to beperformed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a gun, the combination, with the trigger, of a trigger-operating mechanism, and means, comprising a endulum-and a liquid containing receptac e inclosing the pendulum for setting said trigger-o erating mechanism in operation, substantial y as described.

2. In a gun, the combination, with the trigger, of a spring-actuated trigger-operating mechanism normally held retracted, and means, comprising a pendulum and a liquid a pendulum and a liquid containing receptacle inclosing the pendulum, for causing said first named means to release the triggeroperating mechanism, substantially as described.

4. In a gun, the combiqation, with the trigger, of a trigger-operatmg mechanism, and means, comprising a endulum and a liquid containing receptac e inclosing the pendulum, for setting said trigger-operating mechanism in operation, a part of said mechanism and said means being adjustable the one .with reference to the other whereby to make said means actuate said mechanism at a predetermined elevation of the gun, substantially as described. v

5. In a gun, the combination with the trigger, of a spring-actuated trigger-operating device, means for holdingsaid device normally retracted, a mechanism'for actuating said means whereby to cause it to release said device, and means, comprising a pendulum and a liquid containing receptacle incontaming receptacle inclosing the pendulum, for setting said trigger-operating mech' closing the'pendulum, for setting said mechfrom said device to the trigger-operating" anism in operation, said mechanism beingadjustable with reference to said last-named means'whereby to make the same actuate said mechanism'at a predetermined elevation of the gun, substantially as described.

6. In a gun, the" combination, With' the trigger, of a trigger-operating mechanism, a liquid-containin receptacle, a swinging device controlled y the liquid-in said receptacle, and means for transmitting motion mechanism whereby to actuate the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof he has hereunto set 15 his hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS MANCIU. 

